New Jersey Vital Records: Difference between revisions

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| link2=[[United States Vital Records|U.S. Vital Records]]

[[United States Vital Records|Vital Records]] consist of [[United States Birth Records|births]], adoptions, [[United States Marriage Records|marriages]], divorces, and [[United States Death Records|deaths]] recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. [[Locating United States Vital Records|United States Vital Records]] has additional research guidance on researching and using vital records. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the [http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/new_jersey.htm New Jersey Vital Records State Department of Health] or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred.  

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New Jersey's vital records start the following years: <br>  

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The following is a list of online resources useful for locating New Jersey Vital Records which consist of [[United States Birth Records|births]], adoptions, [[United States Marriage Records|marriages]], divorces, and [[United States Death Records|deaths]]. Check [[New_Jersey_Vital_Records|New Jersey Vital Records&nbsp;Online]] for more information about the resources listed below. Most online resources for New Jersey Vital Records are indexes. After locating a person in an index always consult the original record to [[Contradictions and discrepancies|confirm the information]] in the index. '''<br>'''  

'''Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:'''  

*[[New Jersey Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records]]

The first laws requiring town clerks to register vital records were made in 1675 and 1682, but few clerks complied. In 1848 New Jersey became the second state (after Massachusetts) to require statewide registration, but the early registration was not complete. At least 100,000 births in the period before 1920 were not recorded.  

'''1660-1980'''. {{RecordSearch|1675383|New Jersey, Births and Christenings, 1660-1980}} Name index to birth, baptism and christening records from the state of New Jersey on FamilySearch Historical Record Collection. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and some FamilySearch Centers. <br><br> '''1848-1878'''. Statewide indexes to births and deaths from 1848 to 1878 at the state archives have been microfilmed. Birth indexes <ref>({{FHL|312728|item|disp=FHL films 493686-91}} </ref>and death indexes. <ref>Family History Library films 493697-701]. </ref>Births from 1848 through 1867 are indexed in the International Genealogical Index (IGI) online at FamilySearch.org. The death index between 1878- 1896 is; online at the [https://wwwnet-dos.state.nj.us/DOS_ArchivesDBPortal/index.aspx#VS New Jersey Department of State] website.  

'''1901-1903''' - {{RecordSearch|2843410|New Jersey, Death Index, 1901-1903}} at [https://familysearch.org/search FamilySearch] — index

'''1848-1878'''. Original birth and death returns from 1 May 1848 to 31 May 1878 are at the state archives, and microfilm copies are there and at the Family History Library. <ref>({{FHL|312728|item}} beginning with film 493702.) </ref>  

Be sure to request the "long form." If the exact date is unknown, there is an additional fee for each year searched. The fees for obtaining copies of the state's records are listed in:

'''Provincial Marriage Licenses'''. The earliest law requiring town clerks to keep marriage records was made in 1673, but few clerks complied. Marriages were performed either by a clergyman or, more commonly, by a justice of the peace. After 1719 a marriage license was required unless banns were published at least three weeks before the marriage. In the colonial period, it has been estimated that only about 25 percent of New Jersey marriages were by license. Usually the more affluent persons obtained licenses. Marriage by license gradually became more popular than banns by the mid-eighteenth century. However, by about 1790, marriage by license had again declined in popularity. Legislation in 1795 repealed the requirement for marriage licenses.  

For a published index, refer to:  

*Charles Carroll Gardner found numerous transcription errors, and his revised lists for the years 1727 to 1751 were published in The ''Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey,'' 14-23 (1939-1948). See the "[[New Jersey Periodicals|Periodicals]]" page.

The marriage returns before 1878 give the names of the bride's and groom's parents. The registers after 1878 do not have parents' names, but the marriage certificates do. Marriage returns since 1886 and marriage affidavits have not been microfilmed. The Family History Library has some of the following records, which are also available at the state archives.  

*'''1670-1980''' - {{RecordSearch|2365247|New Jersey, Marriages, 1670-1980}} at [https://familysearch.org/search FamilySearch] — index and images

'''1864-1903'''.  

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*'''1930-1938''' - {{RecordSearch|2842740|New Jersey, Bride Index, 1930-1938}} at [https://familysearch.org/search FamilySearch] — index

'''1848-1900'''. Marriage returns, 1848 to 1867, <ref>({{FHL|312728|item}} 25 films beginning with film 493702] </ref>Indexed in the International Genealogical Index; returns, 1868 to 1878 <ref>({{FHL|312728|item}} films 494145-60) </ref>, and registers, 1878 to 1900 <ref>({{FHL|312728|item}} films 494248-49; 495696-721; and 589813-22) </ref>a Arranged according to a July- to-June calendar year by county and then by the first letter of the groom's surname.  

Marriage records from 1848 to 1878 can be obtained from the state archives for a fee. The records from June 1878 to 1940 can be viewed at the archives, but the staff cannot search them nor make photocopies. Copies of records from June 1878 to the present can be obtained by writing to the New Jersey State Department of Health. The fee and the restrictions are identical to those for births and deaths.

A free searchable database can be found at [https://www.newjerseydeathindex.com/ New Jersey Death Index] with digitized images for 1901-1903, 1920-1929, 1949-2000, 2001-2017.<br>

*The Works Progress Administration (WPA) abstracted some birth and death information onto card indexes known as ''New Jersey W.P.A. Birth and Death Records, Early to 1900.'' These cards primarily index church burial records, but they also index death notices from newspapers, some town clerk births and deaths, cemetery headstones, and sextons' records. They are found at the state archives and on microfilm at the Family History Library. <ref>({{FHL|98769|item}} on 12 films beginning with 820014).</ref>

The New Jersey Biographical Card Index at the New Jersey Historical Society (not available at the Family History Library) is an index to about 75,000 births, baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials from:  

*''Vital Statistics Index from Trenton Newspapers, 1800- 1900, at the New Jersey Bureau of Archives and History'', is an alphabetical card index to marriage and death notices for the period from December 1777 to 1900. It was microfilmed in 1969 at the state archives. <ref>({{FHL|210931|item}} films 542512-29). </ref>

*''Index to Inquisitions on the Dead, 1700s-1800s''. <ref>''Index to Inquisitions on the Dead, 1700s-1800s''. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1972. ({{FHL|96523|item}} film 913176 item 2.) </ref>This is an index to records at the state archives and provides the name of the person, the county, page, and sometimes the township or town.

*'''1899-2012''' - {{RecordSearch|2367299|United States, Obituaries, American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1899-2012}} at [https://familysearch.org/search FamilySearch] — index and images

Matrimonial records, including divorce proceedings, were kept by the court of chancery through 1947. The records at the state archives and at the Family History Library date from 1743 to 1850. They are found in the chancery court case files and enrolled decrees described in the "[[New Jersey Court Records|Court Records]]" page and are indexed. Records of legislative divorces before 1845 are listed in Beth Jones-Reichman's ''Divorces by Legislative Acts, 1778-1844'', ''The Genealogical Magazine of New'' ''Jersey'' 53 (January 1978): 1-10. Most existing copies of divorce petitions are at the state archives.  

'''Clerk of the Superior Court'''<br>Records Information Center<br>P.O. Box 967<br>Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0967<br>Telephone: 609-292-4978<br>Fax: 609-777-0094<br>Internet: [http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/superior/dissolution.htm Clerk of the Superior Court]  

It should be noted that New Jersey's 1940 adoption statute did not retroactively seal earlier adoption files.  

For an inventory of the birth, marriage, and death records kept in the various towns, cities, and counties as of 1941, see:  

*''Guide to Vital Statistics Records in New Jersey'' <ref>''Guide to Vital Statistics Records in New Jersey''. ({{FHL|259389|item}} book 974.9 V2h; film 874039 items 1-2; fiche 6051253). </ref>Volume 1 has information on birth, marriage, and death records, and volume two has information on the vital statistics records kept in churches.

*Search for Vital Record in the FamilySearch Catalog by using a '''Place Search''' and then choosing '''Vital Records'''. Search for '''New Jersey''' to locate records filed by the State and then search the '''name of the county''' to locate records kept by the county.

[[New Jersey Church Records|New Jersey Church Records]] Depending on the denomination, church records may contain information about birth, marriage and death  

[[New Jersey History|New Jersey History]]&nbsp;Local histories, family histories and biographies can all be sources of birth, marriage and death information. Often this information is found in county-level records or in surname searches of the FamilySearch Catalog.  

*USGenWeb.org [https://sites.google.com/site/newjerseygenweb/home/ New Jersey Site] - Free

*[https://archive.org/details/reclaimtherecords Various reclaimed indexes]

*[http://www.germangenealogygroup.com/records-search/church_marriages.php German Reformed Church Hoboken, New Jersey (1874-1900)]

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{{New Jersey|New Jersey}} {{U.S. Vital Records}}